Is anyone else having trouble with these pesky things? In one weeks time, they've destroyed my 4 o'clocks and gomphrena and are doing a lot of damage to asclepias. I can't use dipel, I've got monarch cats on the asclepias and it's right there with the other plants and I'm afraid the dipel will get on my cats. I've been hand picking but gave up and just cut the 4 o'clocks and gomphrena to the ground and bagged the cut off parts.
Leaf roller type worms
I'm not sure I've ever seen such worms (and I probably should be glad of that!) unless they're the same as the worms that went to work on my passIonflower vines one year....the same year I was honored to host a huge clan of monarchs. Could the worms be one of the cats' stages?
I need to sharpen my memory....that was the year I was visited by the swallowtail butterflies.
This message was edited Sep 5, 2005 8:19 AM
Worms or caterpillars? I have some green caterpillars that roll up part of a Brugmansia leaf after they have devastated the new leaves.
These are probably caterpillars, and I've seen itty bitty butterflies/moths flying around the plants that are getting eaten. These hatch and immediately roll the leaf over and fasten it with a web. They are yellowish green. They have ruined my gomphrena, 4 o'clocks and have messed up the asclepias. I will get a picture of the damage and a worm/caterpillar.
Here is a picture of the worm/cats and the pupae/chrysalis thingie they make before they hatch. The green one is the worm, the light colored ones are hard, they're finished eating and ready to turn into whatever they become.
Here is what they did to my gomphrena
Looks like they turned your gomphrena into a funky wire sculpture. So far the grasshoppers have done more damage to my plants than caterpillars. Grasshoppers and those little bright green caterpillars must be immune to the toxins in Brugmansias because those have been hit the hardest. I had some Brug seedlings that had just germinated sitting on the top shelf of the greenhouse. At least one grasshopper got in and now about 1/3 of my seedlings are just green little stalks. I just transplanted the survivors into bigger pots and am keeping my fingers crossed.
Betty, I know exactly what you mean! I've got a few pots of "little green sticks" too.
Must be the time of year, because I noticed the exact same thing today on my ornamental pepper. They ate all the leaves except for the very tips where they are wrapping themselves in cocoons.